Ange Postecoglou fires sharp Liverpool 'shortlist' message amid Tottenham exit talk

Ange Postecoglou has hit back at there being any meaning behind links with the Tottenham boss and the Liverpool job. It comes after his name has been raised in discussions over who should replace Jurgen Klopp when he departs the role at the end of the season.

Having taken Tottenham from a struggling mid-table side last season, playing passive football, Postecoglou has captured the imagination in north London with a gung-ho expansive style. As Tottenham sit fourth in the league 24 games into the campaign, just seven behind Klopp's Liverpool, comparisons between the pair have been made.

However, despite being closely tied to conversations over who the next man in the hot seat at Anfield will, Postecoglou isn't getting ahead of himself. «I may be 'on a shortlist',» he admitted to reporters on Friday, laughing off the suggestion. «I don’t think I want to say anything about that because I don’t think that’s ever going to enter my brain space for what is my priorities in life and profession right now.»

Less than one year into his career at Spurs, it's only the start. «Well I am,»he explained. «Not just feel [at the start] — I am. I’ve only been here seven months, so that’s self-explanatory. I’ve been at pains to say we’ve still got a long way to go in terms of the football we want to play, team we want to be, squad we want to have.

»We’ve had two positive windows. I think we’ve had two positive campaigns, a decent campaign so far, but we’ve got a long way to go."

Although Postecoglou arrived as a relatively unknown figure compared to some of Tottenham's other targets — namely Luis Enrique, Arne Slot, or Julian Nagelsmann — he has quickly shown just why there has been success wherever he has ended up in an unorthodox path to date.